Staff Letter

Kaleidoscope

Staff Letter.........................................................................................Page 4

Holidays Holidays aren’t an excuse to skip social distancing.......Page 7 Handling flu season during a pandemic................................Page 8 Must-watch fall movies for every occasion.........................Page 9 5 Horror movies to watch this Halloween.............................Page 10

Politics Graduating during COVID-19.........................................................Page 12 Politically Empowered........................................................................Page 15 Managing mental health during COVID-19.........................Page 16 On the campaign with Casey.........................................................Page 19

City Lifestyle A guide to fall in the Magic City..................................................Page 21 Hot takes with Hannah......................................................................Page 24 Painting the way to progress........................................................Page 25 Fall scenery in Birmingham...........................................................Page 29

DIY Easy recipes for fall comfort food...........................................Page 33 Trends for fall fashion.......................................................................Page 35 Crochet creations with Starris....................................................Page 38 Blaze pumpkin carving template............................................Page 40

Table ofContents

A letter from Kaleidoscope staff

Hello Blazers,

Thank you for joining us for Kaleidoscope’s Fall Magazine. Kaleidoscope looks a bit different this year, and we are grateful for the support you have shown us throughout this journey. As you know, we have transitioned from weekly newspapers to online content. With this change, we are also creating online magazines. Our hope is to continue to provide students with content by utilizing digital platforms.

Our team here at Kaleidoscope is excited to present our first digital magazine of the semester. This magazine features the beauty of fall in Birmingham. Fall fashion trends, political opinions and upcoming events are just a few of the pieces that are covered throughout these pages.

While fall is a beautiful time in the city, it’s important to remember to stay safe and healthy throughout this time. Here at Kaleidoscope, we encourage others to remain diligent by wearing masks and practicing social distancing. As a university, we have worked hard to stay safe and we must continue these practices. Battling a pandemic is a group effort and we must hold ourselves accountable in order to see brighter days.

We hope you enjoy reading the pieces created by our staff members. In addition to our digital magazine, you can view our weekly content by heading to our website, uabblazermedia.com.

If you are interested in joining our team, Kaleidoscope would love to have you. We are currently hiring writers, photographers and illustrators. We have excellent members here at student media and your talents would be an asset to this organization. You can apply for Kaleidoscope at https://bit.ly/ApplyforKscope.

Thank you again for taking the time to read our magazine. We are excited to have you here with us. As you read our fall edition, we hope you can reflect about why fall is special to you. Is it the crunch of the leaves as you walk through The Green? Could it be the chill in the air as you walk home from class? Whatever it is, we hope this fall is one that brings you joy.

Sincerely,

Kaleidoscope staff

Holidays

Holidays aren’t an excuse to skip social distancing

With holiday season rapidly approaching Consider the people you’d be sharing food with students have to take the initiative in their own and being close to while you eat. If you have hands to keep their peers and family safe. elderly family members or otherwise at-risk All things considered UAB’s COVID-19 numbers have been low, especially for a student body of this size. This might prompt students to think they can loosen up their own behavior family it would probably be best to stay home as well as have low contact with your other family in your household that will be going to Thanksgiving. by attending social events, particularly for Ways to have a safe holiday include maintaining Halloween. a 6-feet distance between you and your family. Unfortunately, that isn’t how things work. Low numbers mean keep doing what you’re doing— not stop. If we stop we will continue to be stuck in the rise and fall cycle we’ve been seeing If it’s warm enough it would also be a good idea to eat outside. As always, wear your mask to protect others and encourage your family to wear theirs as well. across the country. These things can’t always be done perfectly UAB reiterated that large and small off campus gatherings are contributing to the rise in cases. It’s important that we as students at UAB and because of various family situations. Maybe your family host holiday dinners or you have a relative who refuses to wear a mask. members of the Birmingham community The same applies to holidays in December continue to social-distance and avoid such as Hanukkah and Christmas but those gatherings that could spread the virus. may be less daunting if you’re able to This includes not having Halloween parties quarantine for the two weeks before. at apartments or This obviously bars. If the threat of can’t be done by illness or spreading everybody. Many illness doesn’t students have jobs scare you, UAB and can’t quarantine has said there after coming home. will be sanctions All that can be done is on students your best. who violate their interim guidelines which includes suspension. Keep in mind your family’s health as well as your own. Explaining how you We also need to ILLUSTRATION BY JI SUNG want to keep them make sure we keep our families safe when safe will probably be received better than we go home for the winter break. COVID-19 saying you don’t want to get sick. symptoms can take up to two weeks to show and you can still be contagious before that. Holidays will look really different this year for a lot of people, but you can still share them with For that reason, students need to think carefully the people you love, you just need to be a little about attending their holiday gatherings, more thoughtful than before. particularly Thanksgiving since it’s less than a week from when we leave campus on Nov. 20. Written by Hannah Richey

Handling flu season during a pandemic

As flu season quickly approaches, Dr. Erin DeLaney, assistant professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at UAB, said there are precautions that can be made to avoid the spread of influenza.

“The best way to be prepared is to get your flu vaccination, as well as a lot of the preventative measures that we’re already doing with COVID too,” DeLaney said. DeLaney said mask wearing, hand washing and keeping a distance from others could possibly help us see a lighter flu season. “I would just say right now we just are really encouraging everyone to go ahead and get vaccinated,” DeLaney said. “Some people are asking, ‘Is it too early to be vaccinated’ and I do not think it is too early to vaccinate right now. The CDC does endorse that September and October are the times to get vaccinated. The CDC has also recommended that people try to have those vaccinations done by the end of October, however, any time during the flu season is appropriate.”

DeLaney said it takes around two weeks to develop antibodies after receiving a flu vaccine. DeLaney said one difference between COVID-19 and influenza is a loss of taste or smell that is associated with COVID. “I think it is going to be really difficult for us to know the difference between those two and we will most likely have to rely on testing,” DeLaney said. “Then just voluntary quarantining if you’re not able to get tested. Probably the safest thing to do would be to assume that it’s Coronavirus and quarantine for those 14 days.”

DeLaney said the CDC has listed specific precautions families should take when considering letting their children trick-or-treat. In addition to trick-or-treating, DeLaney said she advises individuals to avoid traveling for fall activities, as different areas could pose a higher threat to the spread of flu or Coronavirus.